Chapter 13
The room had become ungodly-hot to the point that I felt like I was lying in a steam room, but even though there were windows I couldn't move to get to and open them. The doc could though, and did.
"Whew!" He exclaimed, fanning himself with several sheets of paper. "I wonder where all this heat is coming fro-" a part of the ceiling fell like a globule of whipped cream from the ceiling and splatted on the ground and he jumped backward and bumped into some on-the-wall cabinets. His head jerked upwards and he gaped open-mouthed into the room above our heads. The stone that made up the ceiling was melting and dribbling down into the room that we now were in.
"Uh, Doc? Could you uh, maybe get us out of here?" The doc had frozen in place, stunned at the sight. He wasn't going to be much help. I turned instead to Trixie, who was still in the room near my bed. "Trixie! The doc's frozen. Do me a favor and snap him out of it for me, would you?" Trixie nodded and eying the roof as it started to sag in other areas jumped over the molten rock that had fallen on the floor and poked the doc hard in the side.
"Ouch! What do you think you-"
"No time for that, doc! Help me get him out of here!" She pointed at me and then grabbed my legs and started pulling.
"Not his legs, grab the frame of the bed! It has wheels!" The doc informed her and trotted over to help her move me. They pushed my bed (or whatever it was actually called) around the spreading goop and out through the door. Trixie's two guards were gone, and the hall outside looked to be in worse condition than the room that we had just come from. Not only were parts of the roof melting and dripping down to the floor, but still-solid parts of it were falling down as well to shatter on the floor or crush anypony standing under them. Through one of the holes in the ceiling we could see outside. There was fire covering the sky.
"What the heck is going on out there?!" The doctor asked as a cracking noise came from behind us. The two of them turned their heads and then pushed me forward at a run.
"What just happened?" I asked.
"You don't want to know!" Trixie said. "Just look straight ahead." Like I could do much of anything else. I wasn't sure I wanted to, though. Off to our right the oils in several paintings had begun bubbling as it grew still hotter in here.
A chunk of ceiling dropped from the roof above us and fell and landed not two feet behind us. They pushed faster and I directed my gaze at the roof and saw why Trixie said I didn't want to know. What of the ceiling that had not melted was cracking and steadily falling behind us and spreading ahead of us. If we didn't find somewhere else to go soon we'd be in even more trouble than we were right now.
"Left!" The doc yelled and the wheeled bed swung to the left and rolled out onto the wrap-around balcony that I'd seen the box-like UFO on. Once outside there was a distinct change in temperature. It was much cooler, to all our relief. Still looking up, I saw that a pink light was blocking the barrage of fire now, which had to be what had been causing the building to melt.
"You know, if it weren't for us just escaping a very unpleasant death, watching the fire spreading over this shield but not getting through would be very cool." Both Trixie and the doc gave me a look that said they thought I was nuts. By now I was getting used to that look.
We later had the events that had just transpired while we made our escape related to us by Applejack. Rainbow Dash was still unconscious, and Twilight had been abducted. Of course when I heard that I tried to sit up again and again I failed. I hated being stuck in bed, but there was nothing that I could do about that but focus on getting well, but with so much going through my mind I could barely focus on anything for a prolonged period of time. I could move my fingers and toes with almost no problem now, but I was still bed-bound. I growled out of frustration which earned me a pair of curious glances from Trixie's guards. I want out of this bed! I need to help somehow! But of course I couldn't. At one point after Applejack left Luna came to visit me and offer verbal comforting, but pity didn't interest me at the moment.
"Luna, back in the hedge maze Trixie said that I could use her energy to heal myself, and both you and your sister have channeled your energy into me when you gave me lessons in magic use."
"Yes, energy can be given or taken from a source other than the spell caster if either party knoweth how. Why doth thee ask?"
"I have a favor to ask of you. Could you channel your energy into me now to speed my recovery rate? I can't just sit here." Luna gave me a sad smile.
"Thine heart is in the right place, but there be-ith nothing that thee or any of us can do, Jacob. They took Twilight back to their territory. With all the Dragons that have flocked to Drahngov's call, to go in for a rescue attempt would be suicide. I could channel energy into thee, but mine answer is no. Soon enough we shalt need thine skills here to help defend our capital. Even as we speak refugees are entering the city from all over Equestria. The battle that took place outside of the palace earlier was witnessed by the people down below in the city, and when Drahngov and his brood left the ponies believed that we had forced them into retreat which has only encouraged still more to come here seeking safety."
"Luna, I saw and felt the damage those Dragons did when they bathed the palace in fire. If they come at us in a well-prepared formation they could roast us all with hardly any effort. We might be able to defend against ten, or twenty, or even a hundred, but he claimed that they had over seven hundred dragons. If they come at us from all sides with the current forces that you've got here, we're doomed!" Luna sighed.
"Thee might be right, but what choice doth we have?" I had no answer for that, and Luna slowly nodded. "I shalt come back later once things hath settled a bit. In the meantime get some rest if thee can."
I couldn't, and instead brooded for over an hour before my mind's looping mental state once more recalled that Melinda had healed me and had taken the horn that Trixie had stolen. Not for the first time I wondered why she had taken it, but then for the first time it occurred to me that no one had mentioned the whereabouts of my wand. I turned my head and asked Trixie. She said that the wand was gone too when they arrived. I didn't know what to say to that. Why would Melinda take them both when she already had magic of her own and couldn't use the wand in the first place? Had she perhaps decided that I didn't deserve them?
"Trixie, could you do me a favor?"
"As long as it doesn't involve her leaving the palace, she may." Said one of her guards. I recognized him as the younger guard from the other day.
"I didn't ask you." I said back to him in an annoyed voice. I turned back to Trixie. "Would you be willing to get Applejack for me? Since they won't let you leave I need someone that can."
"What do you want me to ask her?"
"I need her to visit Melinda Jones the Alicorn and ask her if she has my wand. She makes silver necklaces in the middle class district. Please?" Trixie nodded, but hesitated. I raised an eyebrow. "You look like you want to ask me something. What's on your mind?"
"Do you think she might be willing to complete my transformation into a full Human?"
"Why would you want to be a Human? I thought that you wanted to be a Unicorn again."
"Because as a Human I can use magic and have a longer lifespan to perfect it. Besides that, these-" she wiggled her fingers. "make it easier to carry things and make fireworks. I'm not as strong as I was and I get colder faster outside, but I still think I'm better off now."
"Well, if that's how you really feel then you'll need to ask her that." Trixie nodded and left, her guards close behind her.
A short while later both Trixie (and her guards) and Applejack came back again. Applejack looked worn out.
"You worried about Twilight?" I asked.
"Of course I am! Aren't you!?"
"Why wouldn't I be? She's my friend too, you know! So will you see if she has my wand for me?"
"Will it help us find Twilight?"
"I could use it for that once I've recovered a bit."
"Then I'l do it."
"I owe you, Applejack!" I called after her.
"No you don't!" She called back. "We're both helping each other!"
__ __ __ __ __
Applejack had to stop several times to ask for directions, but she eventually found the house with the iron door. Why in the world does she need a door like this? Applejack banged on it with a hoof. Her hoof seemed to barely make a sound, so she banged harder.
After a few minutes of no response Applejack began to wonder if this 'Melinda' was home. She banged on the door again and waited some more. Just when she was about to turn around and leave a curtain over a barred window moved a bit and she heard the sound of metal sliding on metal. A small rectangle of space opened and she saw two eyes.
"Yeah? Whaddya want?" the pony behind the door asked.
"Are you Melinda Jones?"
"Who's asking?" Whoever it was sounded bored.
"Mah name's Applejack. I was sent hair by a previous customer of yours named Jacob Lighthand."
"Jacob, eh? What does he want?" She now sounded distracted as if she needed to be doing something and looked behind her a moment.
"He wants to know if you've got his Unicorn-horn wand."
"Yes I do."
"He wants it back."
"Really? Tell him to come back in a few days. I'm doing some work on it right now."
"'Some work on it'?" Applejack raised one eyebrow and lowered another. "He said it was done."
"For what he was using it for, yes. But like most things in this world, it can be improved. Go back to Jacob and tell him that this one's on the house. That should help him to be more patient."
"How long will you take?"
"Probably another two days. I've never done this before, so it might take longer."
"But-"
"Good day, miss Applejack." Melinda interrupted. The slot shut and the eyes disappeared.
Well isn't she a rude one! Applejack thought, frowning at the door. What did she mean about her improving it? Did she get another Unicorn horn or something? Applejack shook her head and walked back to the remains of the palace.
__ __ __ __ __
Inside her house Melinda Jones returned to her work table. It had been cleared of most of her tools in favor of a long metal tray that contained a mixture of her blood and some that she's taken from what had pooled beneath Jacob back in the hedge maze, her portable smelter, and two other objects that she'd also taken from Jacob: his wand, and an Alicorn's horn. She didn't know where he had gotten the horn, nor was it particularly important to her. For the first time in centuries her old employer had spoken to her again and offered her a second chance. The last time she had held back and it had cost the life of the being she was supposed to protect. This time she was not to protect anyone, but rather to ensure another's demise.
Melinda placed the Alicorn's horn into the blood with the point aiming away from where she would place the wand. As for the wand itself she heated one end of it and melted the silver caps from it as well as the rest of it in the groove and cleaned it off with her magic before placing it in the tray. She moved the two objects almost close enough to touch, then hesitated and moved them away from each other by two inches. Then she focused her healing magic on the horn and wand as Twilight had done before. As with before the blood was absorbed by the wand and the horn and then extended towards one another and meshed. This continued until all the blood was gone. Melinda levitated the horn out and then also lifted her smelter and carefully poured. This time it was not silver that poured, but platinum.
Her employer had given her specific instructions. Silver was enough of a binder for a simple wand, but a rarer (and unfortunately more expensive) metal was required for this. She only hoped it was pure enough. Her equipment was only so good as far as purification went (usually when she got metals from her employers they were already purified).
Well Human, I hope you're better at controlling magic than the Alicorn this belonged to!
__ __ __ __ __
Rarity tried to make sense of what Pinkie was trying to get across. As usual when she became excited she made about as much sense as wearing a winter outfit in the middle of summer, and excited aplenty she was.
"Alright dear, I understand that Ponyville has been destroyed and that you and Sweetie Bell are fine, but what's this about someone with glowing hooves making food at night and waking up the world?"
"Like I said," Pinkie Pie began again. "Twilight and Jacob and Applejack are on their way to Canterlot to warn Celestia that the Dragons are attacking us!" She said it as if she were explaining something to a child.
"That's not what you said at all!" Rarity objected in an annoyed voice. "You said that 'Glowhoof heated an apple pie before night fell and then ran to wake the world'!"
"I was speaking in code, silly filly! The Dragons might have spies among us!" Rarity stared at her. "Glowhoof is Lighthand, apple pies are related to Applejack, and the time before night falls is Twilight!" Rarity still stared, but with exasperation.
"Pinkie, you're my friend, but sometimes you confuse the hay out of me."
"It's not really that hard to understand, Rare. Fluttershy gets it, don't you Fluttershy?" Fluttershy wasn't looking at Pinkie or Rarity. Instead she was staring out across the field they'd travelled across to the evacuation point. Back towards what had once been Ponyville. Her house still stood, but she still felt as if she'd lost her home. She jumped when Pinkie stuck her head out in front of her own, blocking her view. "Hellooo! Equestria to Fluttershy!"
"Eep!"
"What'cha doing?"
"Oh, I was just thinking of home."
"Well we can't go back just yet, silly filly! We need to go to Canterlot and meet up with Twilight and the others first!"
"But why?" Rarity asked. "Wouldn't the Princesses be able to handle this better than us?"
"Because I said I'd meet them there, of course!" Pinkyie's normally bubbly expression suddenly became sour. "Are you trying to turn me into a liar?" She asked slowly. Her face scared Rarity a little, and she hurried to say that Rarity was trying to do no such thing and that she'd be happy to come along with her and Fluttershy. Almost as if she'd flipped a light switch Pinkie went from scary to happy again and caught both her and Fluttershy up in a hug. "Yippee! Let's grab something to eat real quick and get going, then!"
Even though Rarity wanted to object being as most of her things were here in the refugee camp and she'd just been told that most of Ponyville (and her house/shop along with it) had been devastated by fire she also knew that resisting Pinie Pie often ended in failure or in having a too-sweet baked good stuffed into your mouth ( or usually both). So with a heavy sigh she asked the other refugees to keep an eye on her things while she was gone and then packed several objects or items she thought she might need into either side of her saddle satchels and then ate an apple before following Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy out across the field towards Canterlot. If they kept a good pace, they could be there in three days.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
My reaction to Melinda's response to mine and Applejack's inquiries was mixed. On one hand I was relieved that it was in fact her that had taken my wand and the horn, and given that I was still unable to stand to retrieve it her saying to come back in a few days to get it was fine. What I did not like was when Applejack told me that Melinda said that she was doing something to my wand, or 'upgrading it'. The only thing that came to mind was that she was going to attach the Alicorn horn to it, but that came with its own set of problems, the primary being that the Alicorn horn belonged to Celestia's father.
Trixie hadn't known who's it was, but when I asked a gossiping servant that had been walking by with another servant about the crypt break-in she had been more than happy to divulge the information with me, as well as the latest topics of gossip (some of which I really could have lived and died happily without knowing the details of), how tedious and boring, yet strangely satisfying the job of a servant could be, and her curiosity as to what I looked for in a female. I responded that I hadn't actually thought about it in-depth enough to write up a list (because I didn't really have time for dating back home) and she gave me a creepy smile in return. If I had the ability to stand, I think I would have tried running away. Fortunately that was the time that Applejack had come back and the servant left. When I thanked Applejack for her excellent timing she said 'Huh?' and then divulged Melinda's response.
"Well, then I guess the only thing I can do is wait. Not that I can get out of bed yet anyway."
"So how are we going to go about rescuin' Twilight? I don't even know where they took 'er."
"I suppose we'll have to ask Celestia, though given Luna's response I don't think that she will be willing to help us either."
"Luna's response? To what?" I told Applejack about the conversation that myself and Luna had earlier.
"They're going to need all the help they can get, but at this point 'all the help they can get' won't be enough."
"You'd be surprised what we ponies can do when we're backed into a corner! We'll show you, just wait!" Applejack said with utmost confidence. Her faith (or maybe naivety) made me smile.
"You know, that's a popular saying in my world, too. I guess we really do echo you."
"Twilight told me that your people had weapons and vehicles that she'd never seen before. Is ther any chance you might know how to make them?" I shook my head.
"No, not me. I might be able to help you with something more primitive like a ballista, maybe but to make a handgun is a bit beyond my reach. I mean, I suppose we could try to make a home-made cannon if you took a long narrow bell, packed some black powder into the rounded closed end and then rolled a ball of iron or perhaps slid a few metal spear-weapons into it for a cluster shot, but-" Trixe suddenly started running away through a ruined hallway and the guards gave chase. I watched her go and then looked back at Applejack. "What did I say?"
A few minutes later Trixie came back at a slower rate carrying a wooden crate full of fireworks. One of her guards was also carrying another crate by its handle in his teeth holding several small jars of- black powder? I felt a grin spreading across my face. Of course! Trixie uses and makes fireworks, so it makes sense for her to have some!
"Will these do? I've got nine jars of common black powder, some bottle rockets, a few Snapper-pops, ten flares, and material to make a few more of each." I looked at Applejack.
"I think we've got some good news to bring to Celestia!"
"So you want my permission to start testing use of fireworks as weapons?" Celestia said, looking at the stuff we'd (the others put the stuff on my bed and wheeled me to what was left of the throne room) carried in with us.
"Yes, your majesty. It may not be as effective at killing Dragons as say, a tree trunk launched by magic, but at the very least the noise and lights will distract and disorient them, and the best part would be that anypony could them, not just those with magic or wings. Your ground soldiers could still help do more than kill a downed Dragon that can no longer fly, and they could also be used for slaying the serpentine Dragons as well." Celestia looked at all of us standing before her. She sighed.
"I hate killing, and I also dislike that you're all so excited about discovering that something that is used for enjoyment can be used to kill. However, I admit that we are going to need every advantage that we can get if we are to survive. You have my permission." Those of us that could bow did so, and then I was wheeled back out of the throne room.
"So now what?" Trixie said. "We're going to need somewhere open to safely experiment with my fireworks, but I'm not allowed to leave."
"Yes you are. The princess just gave us permission to experiment with using your fireworks as weapons. If we aren't going to blow ourselves up by accident then we're going to need your expertise." The guards behind us overhead what I said and frowned, but due to that loophole there was nothing they could say against it.
Thirty minutes later we were outside in the open space between the mountain the palace was situated on and the hedge maze, and again, I was still on the wheely-bed.
"So, whut do we do now?" Applejack asked while Trixie lined her various fireworks out on the ground.
"Now we take notes. Trixie, how long do your fireworks fly before exploding?"
"It depends on the length of the shaft, but these Snapper-pops here," She pointed at some fireworks as thick the narrowest part of her arm. "They fly for about six seconds and then explode in a dazzling cloud of lights that slowly drift down to the ground. Usually the separate lights go out before touching the ground."
"So it's long range. Would you launch one for us, please?" Trixie blinked and suddenly looked embarrassed.
"I, uh...heh heh heh...don't have anything to light it with..." Applejack rolled her eyes, as did I. Looks like its my lighter to the rescue again. A good investment of my money.
"Trixie, in my left pocket you'll find a small metal object. Pull it out." Trixie walked from her fireworks and did as I instructed. "See the rounded top? Push the end your thumb is next to." The cap popped up and she stared at it, curious. "If you spin the small round wheel there a single flame will ignite on the center. You can use that. Blow on the flame when you want to put it out." Trixie did it to experiment and gasped when it did exactly as I said. She blew the flame out and turned it over in her hands.
"What is this thing?"
"We call them cigarette lighters. I don't smoke cigarettes, but several of my friends back home do. That one is one of the more reliable versions." She looked at me, giving me the 'puppy eyes'.
"Can I have it?" I chuckled.
"You can borrow it." She looked disappointed, but it passed and she walked back to her explosives. She picked up and carried a Snapper-pop a few feet away from the others and then flicked the started again and raised the flame to the fuse. When it lit she counted to three and then tossed it into the air. A shaft of fire erupted from the bottom end and to soared off like a missile from a jet. While it flew it made several snapping sounds, That's probably where it got the name. and then finally exploded. As Trixie had said a cloud of lights burst outward like a small supernova, and like its name implied, a very loud popping sound that was almost a bang sounded as well. The air itself seemed to vibrate from the shock wave it caused. Inside I felt a boyish glee. I had always liked fireworks, and to be here setting them off was fun, even if it was during the day. But remembering our purpose here I squashed it.
"Alright, good. We can work with that." I pointed at the flares on the ground. They were all different colors. "What about those flares? Do they do anything besides light up the sky?" Trixie shook her head.
"No. I used them to make my magical aura appear to change colors. But we could use them to light up the night sky and make it easier to see."
"How about them there fire cracker ball-things?" Applejack asked. "Ah could kick them up in the air, or we could throw them at those snake-Dragons." Trixie shook her head.
"They make a lot of noise, but these ones don't actually explode like my bottle rockets do. That kind I left back in my room.
"Normally I just make tube versions of these that shoot out colored smoke. Sometimes the Wonderbolts use something similar for their performances."
"Did someone say Wonderbolts?!" An excited voice asked from behind us. Rainbow Dash trotted ove rto our group and stopped next to my bed. "Who's idea was it to shoot off fireworks in the middle of the day?"
"Mine and his." Trixie said, pointing first at herself, then at me. "We're trying to come up with a way to use my fireworks as weapons to fight the Dragons."
"Oh, okay. So what's this about the Wonderbolts again?"
"Sky-smokers." Trixie replied, pointing at one of her paper-wrapped balls. "This is a round version of one of the tools the Wonderbolts use in their performances. Once the fuse ignites the powder inside it leaves a trail of thick colored smoke behind it. Typically I tie a rope around one and hang it above my stage before lighting it, which I would later do using magic."
"So if I had one of these things I could write my name in the sky with it as long as there was little to no wind?" Rainbow Dash trotted closer, looking at the orbs with new interest.
"Yes, as long as you could hold onto it. Just don't stay in the smoke for too long. If you do the smoke will make your eyes water." Trixie warned.
"How badly?" One of the guards asked, becoming interested. "Enough to blind you?"
"Not that badly, no, but it will blur your vision and make your eyes itch."
"Could we use that against the Dragons? If they can't see us, they won't have as easy a time killing us." Applejack shook her head.
"I highly doubt that smoke would make a Dragon's eyes water given that those sky critters breathe fire. It just wouldn't make sense."
"No, but we could still make it harder for them to see what we're doing."
"Why not just make a wall of clouds or have fog encircle the city?" I asked.
"Clouds and fog can be burned away by heat, which they will be giving off a lot of. Smoke doesn't burn away."
"No, but what good would a wall of smoke do us when they start blowing it around with their wings? They'd only be blind until they flew through it, but then all of us would have itching eyes and blurred vision once it got blown our way."
"Oooh..." Major flaw in the plan there, buddy. "How about something that explodes that we could drop on them ourselves if we lose our weapons? I don't think that our hooves will be of very much use when our enemies could simply roll over and sweep us off with their wings or an ally of theirs could roast us. Are Dragons fire-proof?" The guard looked around at us. None of us had any idea.
"Celestia or Luna might know." The other guard suggested.
"Well both of them are back at the palace. I'd prefer to keep experimenting with what we've got for now. As for making bombs, we probably-"
"Bombs? What's a bomb?" Trixie asked.
"It's my people's term for weaponized explosives that are either left in one place until they explode, or are dropped and explode on impact with another object. Weapons that shoot through the air like the Snapper-pops we call 'missiles' or 'rockets', small throw-able explosives that can be carried in a pocket we call 'grenades', and pressure-sensitive explosives that we bury underneath dirt or hide under leaves we call 'landmines' that explode when something of a certain weight steps on them. We also have oceanic explosives that are anchored to the sea floor that-" I stopped when I realized they were all staring at me. The guards looked at me with apprehension, Applejack gave me that ever-so-familiar 'you're nuts' look again, Rainbow Dash looked bored, and Trixie looked like she was taking mental notes.
"Now I know why you and Twilight get along so well." Rainbow Dash said. "You're the biggest nerds I've ever met!"
"Also potentially the more dangerous of the two." The elder guard said. "From what you've said so far plus the idea of using fireworks to kill in the first place, one might think your people like war." Sometimes it seems that way if you skim through our world's history. I thought but didn't say. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't like 'shooter' video games, but actual war?
"While some of my people might, I am not one of them. This does not stop me from learning bits and pieces about our wide variety of weaponry. As a wise writer from my world put in one of his books: 'those without swords can still die upon them'. Think of me and my kind what you will, but I'm trying to help you."
We tested out several other things that Trixie had brought along, but few of them were of interest save for something she called 'Distraction Attraction'. It didn't look very special. What it looked like was a baby food jar full of apple juice. She handled it with extreme delicacy as if she were carrying Nitro-Glycerin. I hope that's not what it is. That stuff would be unrealistic for defense purposes. When Applejack asked what was so special about a small jar of apple juice Trixie gingerly set it in one of the palms of her hands and threw it as hard as she could away from us. It bounced once on the ground, twice, and then struck a rock and turned into a black ball of something that rapidly expanded outward almost back to where we stood and then shrunk back down again. To my confusion which I was sure was shared by everyone else here except for Trixie, all of us were pulled forward as if we were all shoved hard when the ball of black shrank again. With the exception of myself, who rolled roughly forward on the bed, everyone was pulled to the ground and dragged forward until the ball shrank to a pinprick and vanished. When my eyes readjusted to the regular light I saw that the rock the jar had struck was gone, and there was also a hole in the ground as deep and big around as the orb had expanded with a small almost-black perfectly round rock at the bottom of it.
"What in the worlds just happened?!" I asked, coasting to a stop at the lip of the hole. My two front wheels stuck out over the edge but fortunately my momentum had not been quite enough to carry me in.
"I've got no idea, to be honest. I don't even know if there's a real name for this stuff." Trixie replied, walking over to me with the intention to pull me back. "The first time I saw that liquid was a few months ago. I had fallen asleep while making more colored-flame firework-wheels and when I woke up the mortar and pestal I had been using to grind and mix the ingredients was on the other side of the room on the floor and the jar I had been drinking out of had two inches of that liquid in it. I also found directions in my recipe book to make more of it."
"A few munths ago?" Applejack asked. "Had anythin' strange happened that day?" Trixie closed her eyes and thought a moment. She nodded and opened her eyes.
"Yeah there was, now that you mention it. I might have been dreaming when I saw this, but when woke up I could have sworn that the clouds outside were pink and mud was falling from them."
"Chocolate." Applejack corrected, and sighed. "It was chocolate rain." Rainbow Dash nodded.
"What's up, Applejack?" I asked.
"Ah few months ago Discord, the living embodiment of Chaos broke out of his prison and turned Ponyville literally upside-down, reversed pony's personalities, and reality as we know it was closer to something out of a pipe dream." She explained. "What was in that jar of yers when ya went to sleep?"
"Just plain water."
"Do ya walk in yer sleep?" Trixie shrugged. "If'n ya do, You might'a mixed it up in a dream thinking it wuz real."
"Trixie," I began. "What did you test it on the first time you used it?"
"I didn't. Not on purpose, anyway. I carried it down to a stream that I'd parked my show wagon next to and was rinsing it out. When the first of it must have gone over the small waterfall and struck the ground. Suddenly I was yanked off my feet face-first into the stream and the jar flew out of my hooves and was sucked into a black ball of nothing like the one that formed from that jar. Water was sucked into it too, which I though was kind of strange, but it quickly disappeared so I figured it was no big deal until I found a ball of glass and stone and mud at the new bottom of the pool. Everything had been fused together as one item. It was also extremely heavy even though it was only as big as the rock in the bottom of that hole." She pointed at the hole that I'd nearly fallen into. "I could barely get it off the ground."
"I don't think I want something like that anywhere near me if it needed to be used as a weapon!" Rainbow Dash said adamantly after both of the guards and Applejack also tried and struggled to lift the round rock at the bottom of the crater. "I was on the ground and I felt like I was being sucked into a tornado! I don't want to have a dozen of these things going off all around me when I'm trying to dodge Dragon-fire and teeth!"
"I agree." The younger guard said. "Something like that should never be used unless at greatest need, and even then I'm not sure we should."
That was like a miniature inverted nuclear bomb! Instead of blasting outward it was pulling inward! I agree with Rainbow Dash and that guard. As did everyone else, including Trixie herself. She also admitted that even if we did want her to make more of it she had left the recipe book back in her show wagon in the middle district and she didn't have the strength to pull it herself anymore, and certainly not up several sets of steps to the area before the bridge to the palace.
After the test with Attraction Distraction Trixie showed us how to shorten or lengthen the fuses to make for longer or shorter delays between light-and-launch, and then we began discussing ways to mount and launch them from whoever chose to carry them. The main issue turned out not to be the possibility of scorching feathers and hide, but rather how we were going to light the fuses while a Pegasus was flying. We came up with several methods, but none of them were very efficient and most of them required the need to stop in midair for a minimum of three seconds (which we found out with the help of Rainbow Dash) to take in hoof what they were going to use, and then to stick the fuse into a jar strapped to one side through a small hole cut into its lid. Originally we tried having her do so while in flight, but it proved rather distracting and she kept missing, and one she time dropped what she had been trying to light and had to dive to catch it, which might not be allowed for in actual combat.
"With a bit of practice I could get it, but what about how long it takes to go off? I'd need a second and a half to aim it and then I'd get hit with the launch-fire when it shoots off.
"So we'll only have earth ponies use the rockets, then." I said. "We could still use bombs for the fliers."
"But we'd still have the same problem." Applejack pointed out. "Unless we all had a lighter like the one you've got and didn't drop it in the chaos that's sure to follow."
"Maybe we could use another delivery system, then." I turned to the guards. "Do you know what a ballista or a catapult is?" They nodded.
"A catapult is a form of siege weapon. It throws rocks or other objects through the air."
"Do you have any functional catapults?" Th elder of the two shook his head.
"The last time I saw a full-sized model I was in a museum, and don't think it was in good enough condition for that."
"Do you think we might be able to build new ones?" He shrugged.
"Perhaps, but that would take time, and horsepower that we guards cannot afford to divide right now."
"Why not? I doubt that Celestia is going to surrender when it means that Dragons can come into your homes and feed on whomever they wish whenever they wish. From what I've seen none of you guards are Unicorns, which means we need to find mechanical means of fighting."
"Why not just go back into your world and bring some of your people's weapons here directly? Heck, why not bring some of your people here? We could use the extra help." I hesitated. What he said made sense, but I had no influence in Britain, let alone in my own country, and I had no idea where to buy a gun or a bomb, and I probably did not have the money for it even if I did know where to get them. But gemstones are very common here and I was just on the news. We might be able to hire people to fight for us even if my world's governments won't commit any soldiers to us...
"We'd have to pay them for their services if any would come at all, and if you wanted more in-depth help you'd need to send someone of importance to speak on your behalf. I'm just an average Joe, or a commoner, back home. I have no political influence."
"Given the circumstances I think the princesses would be willing to send an ambassador on our behalf." the same guard replied. "I'll inform her immediately."
That just about concluded our testing as the others began asking me if I thought my people would send help and in what form. I responded that I didn't know. I knew that there would be people that wanted to cross over just to see this world, to walk its green pastures and see the locals, and of course there would be anti-Zombie enthusiasts that would try to wipe out the Bloody Hooves and hikers that would love a chance to climb new mountains, divers to explore new oceans, and cult-folk that would love the chance to get magical abilities, but I didn't know if anyone would come just for the sake of actually helping. Our races may have been allies in times long-since forgotten, but we had changed quite a bit since then. Could we stand once more as neighbors and friends with a common cause? I certainly hope so. I also hope that my people won't rape this world of its natural resources as corporations are doing now with our own.
It was later in the evening after we'd returned to the palace that I was summoned by royalty. I could sit up now but still couldn't stand and once more needed to be wheeled away. This time I was not taken to the throne room, however, but rather Luna's private chambers. I wondered at this but concluded that the throne room had become damaged by the Dragon-fire.
The servant that had pushed me knocked on the door, waited for permission to enter, and then left me in Luna's room. It had a large dark-covered bed and the roof was painted to look like the night sky. The walls were painted with what seemed to be family history, but in pictures rather than words. Several candles were positioned on the walls around the room for light, and there was an adjoining room that I assumed led to her bathing chamber. Standing in the center was Luna.
"I have been informed that thee wisheth to attempt to recruit some of your people or at least obtain some of their weaponry to aid us in our upcoming fight at the end of the week?" I nodded.
"I don't know if any of them would actually come and I don't know if any weapons they bring would be effective, but at this point I'm willing to put aside my own feelings about involving the rest of my race and appeal to their better nature."
"Which would be?"
"The desire to fight against an evil villain and defend those that can't defend themselves. If that fails we could try hiring mercenaries."
"What is a mercenary?"
"A mercenary is a person that will fight and kill for money. We'd probably have to supply them with weapons, but it'd be a start, and from what I've been told gemstones are very common here, so money will not be a problem. There's just two issues we'd have to deal with first."
"And these are?"
"One, the gateway from my world to yours is unstable and needs to be repaired. Two, I can't stand yet. Considering that I, Twilight, and Fluttershy were the ones that beat-" I stopped and broke eye contact with Luna. "put Thanatos out of his misery, if I come back looking weakened it could have an affect how everyone else considers aiding you. If the ruler of Britain thinks that its too risky a decision, which she probably will anyway, then she'll say no and possibly forbid anyone else from going through as well. While this won't stop civilian volunteers from coming through (unless the queen puts it under guard) anyway, it might lessen the amount of those as well."
"Say thine people decide to help us. How long would it take them to ready themselves for battle?"
"I have no idea. I'm just a commoner in my world."
"A commoner that is the first Human to come into contact with Unicorns and more in over eight hundred years. I don't think thine people shalt ever look at thee that way again. Very well. If you will go to thine people on behalf of mine own I shalt restore your strength."
"I shall."
"Excellent! I shalt arrange for one pony of each breed to accompany you, and I shall go along as well as the co-ruler of me and mine sister's kingdom." I sat up and did my best to bow to her. As I was, I imagine I must have looked rather silly. Luna's horn glowed softly and within mere moments I felt strong again. I rotated my arms and flexed and stretched my muscles, and then turned my body to one side and hopped out of them bed- and fell to the floor. Luna shook her head and told me that I needed to learn patience.
"I would have told thee when I had finished." I laid there tapping my fingers on the plush carpet until Luna gave the okay, then I stood. My legs felt a little weak, but it was enough that I could stand and walk again. "Preparations shalt be complete by tomorrow morning. You may leave then."
"No good. When it's daytime here, it's night time there. While the entire world won't be covered in night, the country that we're going to will be. Less people awake means less people hear us in a shorter period of time, and we still need to get to the gateway and fix it first."
"Thou can leave the repair of the gateway to mine self, but we need to contact those whom are trained in diplomacy first. It would not be good to accidentally insult the same people we are trying to ally with."
"Good luck with that." I said sarcastically. "There is a culture of people on my world that get upset if you don't belch loudly and obnoxiously after a meal." Luna stared, dumbfounded.
"What?"
"I doubt we'll run into many of them. Be very careful of the overly-zealous religious groups, though. Some of them will try to kill us because we use magic. In some religious sects, practicing magic is strictly forbidden and any who do use it are considered enemies."
"But- that's-"
"Insane? Perhaps. But you've got to take into account that we have over six billion people on our world, so differences in opinions large and small are sure to occur."
"Over six billion!?!" Luna's pupils shrank to dots and her mouth hung open. One leg reached up halfway to her chin but stopped there.
"With no major enemies on our world besides one another we were free to multiply as much as we wanted. And multiply we did." A muscle under Luna's left eye twitched a few times. She made a few 'uck uck uck' sounds as her brain tried to find words to use. "I'm sure that there will at least be a few hundred that want to help even if they can't get to the gateway if for no other reason than the chance to slay a Dragon and take part of it home to show everyone."
"Over. Six. Billion!" Her eyes had a far-off look as if picturing all of us standing on a field as far and wide as the eye can see with Humanoid figures standing side by side on it, row after row also taking up the field as far and wide as the eyes could see.
"I take it this world's equine population isn't even close to that?" Luna dumbly shook her head, her expression unchanging. "How many?"
"Perhaps one billion at the most, including the Zebras!"
"A lot less than I'd expected, considering that your people mature physically a lot faster than ours do. We can't breed typically until we reach between ages eleven and thirteen, and normally don't actually breed until several years later unless our young decide to be stupid."
"Your kind live a lot longer than ours people do with exception to me and mine sister, correct?"
"Unless we die early, yes. As our medical studies got better we began living longer and longer. Most of my family live close to one hundred years, but in general our females become unable to breed around the age of forty."
"Which is around the age that our people die of old age." An odd coincidence. I thought. Perhaps that is another effect of our world being an Echo Dimension to this one? I wonder what would happen if my people moved to a primary world?
"Either way, regardless of how long my people live, we're burning time that we don't have to waste. I'll go and pack. Let me know when you're ready."
The summons did not come that evening as Luna had said, so I decided I'd go to sleep for the night here and wake up and be ready to go in the morning. So I did.
The following morning Trixie informed me that she was going along and I told her otherwise.
"They're going to need your expertise here for making more rockets. If you came along with us and nothing came of it then we'd have wasted valuable preparation time."
"And if it does work you're going to need another set of hands to help you carry stuff back. Besides that, what if your people demand a demonstration of magic from you?" She held up the Unicorn horn she'd stolen and waved it back and forth. "Melinda still has your wand, which means that you'll be needing this. If you don't take me along, you don't get it." She smiled smugly.
"If my people want a demonstration of magic use they can consult Luna. I'm only going along because I defeated Thanatos and because my involvement was part of Luna's condition for me being fully healed. In truth I'd rather be going after Twilight Sparkle, but Melinda still has my wand. I wouldn't be of very much help in the search without the magic it grants me." Then it occurred to me that I could use that horn Trixie had to search for Twilight! I didn't need the wand at all!
"Fine, you're in." Trixie stuffed the horn into a bag that she had packed for herself.
"You'll get it if you need it." She explained, smile still smug. "When do we leave?"
"When Luna sends for us." We didn't have to wait long. The same servant that gave me the creepy smile showed up carrying it in her mouth. When I reached and took it she licked my hand and gave me the smile again. I took a step back and said thanks for the letter, trying to keep a straight and not disgusted face.
"It's a servant's job to...serve." She turned around and winked over her shoulder as she left. I quickly shut the door.
"I think you have a fan." Trixie said, trying not to laugh.
"I never thought that there'd be animal-people with a fur-less fetish! I guess that runs both ways." I opened the letter and ran my eyes over it. I nodded and told Trixie that we had time to grab breakfast and then we had to go. She said she'd already eaten, so it was just me that went to grab a salad. What a healthy meal. I sighed. I miss bacon and scrambled eggs and a tall cold glass of milk! But I was going back to Earth today, so that was indeed something I'd be able to consume later. My taste buds could hardly wait. Just thinking of it made me salivate more than normal and I drooled on the table I sat at. I looked around to see if anypony had noticed and quickly wiped it up with a sleeve.
"Good salad?" I looked behind me and saw Applejack.
"You just saw that, didn't you?"
"See you wiping something off the table when you aren't using salad dressing and have nothing to drink? Yeup. So do you think you're people will help?"
"That depends on what you mean by 'help'. I have no doubt that some Humans will come, but I don't know if they'll actually help us fight. Sometimes news-people will go into a war zone so that they can get during-the-event interviews with those involved. Just finding out that there's an entirely new world out there waiting to be explored without having to leave the atmosphere will be big news on its own. Once they find out that we might be facing genocide we'll have journalists all over the place talking to anyone they can find. As to soldiers...who knows? That'll be up to the world's leaders."
"If they don't help that just means we'll have ta fight 'em all the harder! Don't be so glum, Jake!" I didn't share her confidence, but pretended that I did.
"You're right. We've got Celestia, Luna, and you and your friends on our side. How can we possibly lose?"
Me and Trixie met Luna, and several ponies outside what was left of the palace. Rainbow Dash was one of them. Luna frowned at me.
"Why art thou taking her along with thee?"
"Why art- er, are you taking Rainbow Dash along?"
"Rainbow Dash is one of those that helped to save me and mine sister's kingdom from my Nightmare state, and is also one of the faster Pegasi in all of Equestria. She is going along so as to deliver the results of our request to thine people back to mine sister faster. Why art thee bringing her along?" She asked, pointing a hoof at her. "She tried to kill thee!"
"If I recall correctly princess, you tried to overthrow your own sister at one point, and Celestia forgave you. How could I do anything less for her?"
"I-" Luna stopped. My using that as a comparison might have been a little underhanded, but it worked and Luna didn't press me to leave Trixie behind. Luna didn't know that Trixie had broken into the family crypt. If I told her that Trixie had a stolen Unicorn horn in her possession she might put two and two together and decide to take Trixie along and then leave her on Earth permanently. "Is everypony- and Human- ready?" A series of nods responded to Luna's question and Luna's horn began to glow.
"Over the hills and far away." I muttered before we teleported from Canterlot to Everfree's borders near Fluttershy's house
"I hath not been inside this forest since it was pure and beautiful. Thee shalt have to lead, Lighthand." I nodded and took the lead through the woods, looking for several landmarks I'd noted when me, Twilight, and Fluttershy were on our way out. I did not see any red eyes this time around, to my relief and in time we found our way to the Equestrian Stone Arch Gateway.
"So the rumors were true..." I overheard a Unicorn say from behind me. I ignored him and walked right up in front of the gate. I pointed at the keyhole in the door and informed them that we'd need a Unicorn's help to open it. Everypony looked at the Unicorn that had spoken earlier. He looked around at each individual as if begging them to not make him do it. "I'd do it, but I don't have my wand right now, and it isn't the right shape anymore anyway. We need an actual horn for this."
"There is no need for him to do it, Jacob Lighthand." Luna said, stepping forward. "I shalt open it, and I still need to fix the passage first anyway." She looked at those that had come with us and said that we should make ourselves comfortable as it could take awhile. I lied down on the grass and stared at the sky while the others meandered about busy with a conversation or observing the creepy forest as if expecting something to jump out at them which was not entirely out of the question given where we were.
"How can you be so at ease in here?" Trixie asked, sitting down and leaning against my side as a backboard. "I've heard a lot of things about this forest, and almost none of them were good."
"Because I've seen some of the bad things in these woods and I saw none of those when our group entered. If we were going to be attacked they would have already done so. Besides, Zecora said that what attacked Fluttershy, Twilight and me only come out to hunt once a year and only attack at night. That day and night have passed, and more than that Luna is with us, so I doubt anything would be stupid enough to attack us."
"Anything that knows who she is. I doubt a Manticor or a a giant spider or something like that would know who she is."
"Even if they don't Luna could probably handle anything this forest could throw at her." Luna had a hoof pressed against the arch and had her eyes closed. Her horn glowed softly and she whispered something from time to time.
Finally, after an hour she said 'Gotcha!' and inserted her own horn into it, turned her head, and removed it. The doors swung open, no longer flickering, and she trotted through. The others, noticing this scrambled to follow and I rose from the ground and waited. Once they had all gone through I walked towards the night-time world waiting on the other side. I stepped in, Trixie close behind. Once on the other side I looked up at the unfamiliar constellations of Britain, looked at the equine faces around me and smiled. "Stallions and Mares, welcome to Earth."